The Tigers gained some level of revenge for their 4-1 home thrashing by Boro earlier this month
Kim Hellberg branded Middlesbrough’s 1-0 defeat to promotion rivals Hull City as a dark night after seeing Sergej Jakirovic’s side move to within two points of the Teesside outfit.
Boro dominated possession in front of more than 31,000 supporters at the Riverside Stadium, but they mustered just five attempts on target and, in truth, rarely tested City stopper Ivor Pandur.
The Tigers, who had won three and drawn one of their four games since Boro romped to a 4-1 victory at the MKM Stadium on December 5, went in front after only 12 minutes when Kyle Joseph’s persistence fashioned an opening for Darko Gyabi to fire into the bottom corner.
It’s now three matches without a goal and a win for Boro, who remain second, but have Ipswich Town and City breathing down their necks going into the New Year.
“I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed over the result, of course, but not scoring a goal too,” the Boro manager said. “Making the game look like this and not even coming away with a point, never mind all three points, is not good enough.
“It’s a big, big disappointment. It’s a tough night. That can be the way when you pick this type of work; in terms of being a football coach, you can have very dark nights. From that, you have to try to find the light again, and you go again. That’s how it is.
“I think we have to be honest. It’s a little bit of a lack of quality in the finishing situation. We need to be honest with that, and I need to help the players in their positioning to get them into better positions.
“We need to work on it together and try to find a structure for them to finish from their best positions as often as possible. It’s a big, big disappointment, and it’s a tough night.”
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